A Prayer to the Goddess
by Link015
Summary: It's the night before the final battle in the Tower of Guidance. Everyone deals with the pressure in different ways, wondering if this will be their last battle. For Laura, it means giving a prayer to the same Goddess she's going to fight.


Chris: Yeah...I felt kind of guilty for not doing anything for the fanfic community in...a really, really long time, actually. So to (possibly) make up for it, I made up this little fic. I hope you all enjoy reading it...I had fun writing this. I dunno, I just like the style of it, but that's just me. Anyway, please read on!

(Man, if people still remember who I am I'm gonna be amazed.)

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**A Prayer to the Goddess**

Laura breathed a sigh as she entered her tent, the cool night air being sealed off as she closed the flaps and tied them shut. It had been an extremely tiring week and now they were finally back in Begnion, positioned right outside the magnificent golden Tower of Guidance that reached for the sky. Laura moved over to her cot and sat down on it, grabbing a towel she had left behind and wiping off the last beads of sweat from her face. She had just finished healing the last bit of injuries the army had gotten after a crack group of Ashera's "chosen" had ambushed them just outside of Sienne.

She looked at the small, portable altar she had kept with her for as long as she remembered. It was a dinky thing, definitely not suited to be anywhere near a church or religious place whatsoever, but it eased Laura's heart whenever she saw it. Staring at it for a couple of seconds, she placed towel away and knelt in front of the altar, clasping her hands. The last time she had prayed to the Goddess had been…well, it had been before she had found out that Ashera was the cause of the eerie silence that surrounded the world.

Ever since she had found out the Goddess that she had prayed to for the majority of her life was, in fact, intending to kill them all, Laura had been conflicted. How would you feel if the supposedly benevolent goddess you had been worshipping was actually just sleeping and wanted to kill all of humanity when she woke up? Pretty damn bad, that's for sure. So when she wasn't fighting, she simply reflected on humanity's actions and thought.

She had finally come to a resolution the night before. She would not be angry at Ashera for her actions…or Ashunera either. After all, what goddess wouldn't get angry when she saw her creations…her children, fighting against each other for the simple reason of dislike and hate? Laura was pretty certain she'd probably have done the same thing that Ashunera had done and that wiped out any resentment she might have had towards Ashera…not like she had much in the first place. She was simply upset and tired and needed a nudge in the right direction…Just like Ashunera had guided their ancestors, they would now need to guide her two halves, Ashera and Yune. They would be the goddess's light into the future, leading her back to peace and harmony.

It was a pretentious thought and one that seemed ill-suited for the humble cleric. Still, when the gods themselves were lost, who should they turn to but their children? She took in a deep breath, thinking of Ashera, of Yune, of everyone she had seen in her travels. She would offer a prayer for all of them. Who would hear her words? She didn't know.

_Great goddess in the sky, I beseech you  
__Look upon the world and bless the world with your divine grace  
Bless the faithful, the holy, the righteous…_

"What're you doing, Rhys? Praying to the goddess?" The flame-haired wyvern rider, Jill, poked her head in the priest's tent. "Mind if I come in?"

"Help yourself." Rhys says with a pleasant smile, offering his seat to the young woman. "And I wasn't praying…just composing a few letters that other people wanted me to write for them. So, what brings you here? I doubt you need my services as a priest, unless you've done something you really want to repent about."

"No, no, of course not." Jill smiled softly. "Nothing of that sort. I'm…just feeling a little bit lost at the moment. I've been fighting on the wrong side for so long lately that my…internal compass is kind of spinning out of control. There was the Mad King's War…then in this war, I fought on the side of Daein. Well there really isn't a bad side right now…but to think my actions were being manipulated by Begnion…"

"I see…" Rhys nodded. "Well, you must understand, people are motivated by a cause. You believed your cause was just and it was. A person's good is not determined by what side he or she is on, it is decided through your actions. You fought to protect your fellow man and for that, you are good. Don't worry…just let your heart guide you for now."

"Hahaha…I'll keep that in mind." Jill shook her head ruefully. "I shouldn't be getting cold feet now. I'm spent most of my life fighting for what I thought was right…no reason to suddenly question my actions now when nothing has changed. I must be the only one who's doing this."

"Nonsense. Astrid and Geoffrey had come in earlier to ask the same thing, although in their case they didn't have as many words to say." Rhys smiles reassuringly. "Don't worry, Jill. You aren't the only one who is questioning. If it makes you feel any better, simply have faith in the Goddess."

"The same one we're attacking?" Jill asked, an eyebrow raised skeptically.

"The very same." Rhys's smile widened a bit. "I'm sure inside, she recognizes your confusion and will find a way to remove it."

Jill laughed and stood, bowing slightly to Rhys. She looked at him with a crooked smile. "I'll keep it in mind, Brother. Thank you very much for your words."

She left the tent, still laughing a little to herself. Rhys watched her leave before taking back his seat, putting quill to paper. He dipped the tip of the quill in ink and tapped it against a spare piece of paper, shaking off any extra liquid. He stared up at the sky. "Watch over us, Goddess."

He turned his attention back to the letter and began writing. "Dear Father…"

_Give your blessings to the lovers, the yearners, the romantics  
Allow their love to last until the end of time_

"You know, Ilyana, we could be at the end of the world and you would still be hungry." Mia sighed as she handed the magic user a small bag of cookies. Ilyana looked up with a faint smile on her face, accepting the bag with a nod before she looked back at the fire. Mia simply shook her head and sat next to Ilyana, poking at a fire with a stick. "So…This is it, huh?"

"Yes…" Ilyana replied softly, nibbling on the cookie slowly. Even her ravenous hunger could be slowed down, although she still wanted to eat. "How are you feeling? Are you ready for this?"

"I have to be. Soren specifically told me that I would be one of the people definitely going into the Tower." Mia said with a smirk, but her tone was less than happy. "I…don't suppose that Soren has told you the same."

"Nope." Ilyana replied simply. "I haven't been told of anything."

"Oh come on, you seriously can't be that angry, can you?" Mia asked exasperatedly. "I know we were partners throughout the Mad King's War…and through this fight as well, but...I. I want to stick with you Ilyana…We promised each other, remember? And besides, there's no guarantee that we'll be split up!"

"I know…I know…"

In the firelight, Mia noticed the tears that were hanging from Ilyana's eyes and she sighed softly, feeling a squeezing around her heart. She raised a hand to brush the tears away when she saw something glint out of the corner of her eye. A small, teasing smirk appeared on Mia's lips and she tapped Ilyana on the shoulder. The thunder mage looked at Mia with a confused look, which turned into an even more confused look and a heavy blush when she saw Mia sexily place a grape right between her lips.

"W-What…What are you doing, Mia?" Ilyana stammered, looking around wildly.

Mia pulled the grape out and grinned. "Come on, Ilyana…I know you're still a little hungry. Come on…eat it. There's someone watching us…so why not give them a little show? I know the poor sex-starved fiend could use it."

Ilyana's blush only deepened as Mia placed the grape back between her lips. Looking around furtively, Ilyana gave up with a small sigh and moved in closer, tentatively licking the open part of the grape. Mia encouraged her with a little squeeze of her hand and Ilyana moved in closer, finally sealing the kiss. She let out a little squeak when Mia threw away all pretenses and wrapped Ilyana in a tight hug, still kissing the smaller girl.

They stayed in that position for several minutes before Mia finally released Ilyana. Shining green eyes stared at purple-blue ones and the swordmaster placed her forehead against her lover's. "Don't worry, Ilyana…we'll always be together. If not in body, in spirit. Hehehe. You've watched my back and I've watched yours. Let's fight for each other tomorrow…and if we do end up in the same team, then there's nothing getting in our way."

"Thanks Mia…thank you so very much…"

Meanwhile, behind several dense bushes which he thought would conceal him enough, Gatrie was busy twisting a rag into a poor knot as he tried to not make any sounds. He turned a tearful look at Shinon, who only sighed in irritation and rubbed his forehead. Gatrie let out a groan and released his grip on the rag, shaking his head in depressed defeat. "This isn't fair, Shinon! Why can't I get a girl like that? Why do I have to be stuck with you?"

"I'm sorry I don't sport a pair of breasts, Gatrie." Shinon snapped, groaning. "This is ridiculous. I'm going to sleep."

With that, the sniper simply left the scene, muttering something about insolent partners and stupid people. Gatrie gave Mia and Ilyana a sad look from behind the bushes one last time before scooting off as well.

_Give your blessings to the valiant, the strong, the righteous  
Let your grace guide their blades to victory_

"Lyre, if you bring it up one more time…" Lethe snarled, her tail waving in the air irritably as she looked at the overly cheerful face of her younger sister. She stalked away but Lyre simply walked next to her, matching her pace. Finally, Lethe gave up trying to escape her inquisitive sister and spun, folding her arms over her chest. "Lyre…"

"Aw, come on, sis. I'm just curious why you haven't told Ike that you love him yet! After all, you spend like…half of your time awake with him! It's not like you spend much time with any of the other beorcs in the army! I have a right as your sister to guide you to the right path! And Ike is totally a good match for you." Lyre said confidently.

"Lyre…" Lethe growled out, her ears twitching. "Just because I spend time with Ike does **not** mean I'm in love with him. It's training…training that you should probably do too, I might add."

Lyre pouted. "Ranulf and Kyza keep telling me that too. I'm a cat! I'm supposed to laze around in the sun! Besides, I'm good enough at fighting right now! My training is much less important than the state of your heart!"

Lethe groaned. "Look, even if I **did** like him, what am I going to do? I could tell him, but I'm sure we all have more important things to think about right now. Also, a union between a beorc and a laguz is still looked down upon by almost everyone and their children suffer even more. So, there is absolutely nothing that's going to come out of me liking him!"

"Liking who?" Ike asked as he walked onto the scene, blinking at the two laguz. Lyre started giggling wickedly and a small blush spread across Lethe's cheeks. Ike simply blinked, wonder what the hell was going on. "Uh…"

"Well, isn't this perfect!" Lyre smiled. "I'll leave you two alone then!"

Lethe shook her fist at Lyre as her younger sister skipped away, whistling merrily. Shouting curses in her mind, she looked up at Ike's clueless expression and let out an angry growl. "Ike! You, me! Training in five minutes!"

Ike watched her stalk off. "Wait, what?"

He turned to Soren as the young tactician and mage walked up to him. "Do you have any idea what was going on?"

"Nope." Soren shook his head, his voluminous sleeves shaking off some ash that had fallen on them. "Lethe is simply being Lethe."

"Ugh…I'm never going to understand laguz or women." Ike groaned, scratching his head. "I might as well go before Lethe gets even angrier. Everything's all set, right Soren?"

"Yes. I completed my rounds around the camp as well as removed some extra distractions that some people had brought in." Soren muttered, brushing off the rest of the ash from his clothes. "I simply cannot believe some people."

"Well, as long as you took care of it. Knew I could count on you." Ike said, giving Soren a friendly slap on the shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Mmmm."

_Give your blessing to the confused, the searching, the doubtful  
May they find the answers they seek_

Leonardo frowned as his arrow flew straight to the target, slamming into it just centimeters away from the bulls-eye. Several arrows were scattered all around the board and so far none of them had hit that single spot. The young archer looked at where the other targets had been set up and kicked at the ground irritable. Rolf's arrows were all gathered close to the bulls-eye and he had struck the elusive circle more than once. Shinon had hit the bulls-eye in all of his shots and some of the arrows bore scars from when another arrow had sliced into it.

"This sucks."

He contemplated giving up all together and trying to feign sickness. Shinon and Rolf were much better archers than he was and neither of them shook in battle. They weren't frightened by the constant chaos or the blank expressions of the people they killed. He, on the other hand, still wasn't used to the constant fighting. It had been better at the beginning but now his nerves were unraveling on him.

"Hey Leonardo." Nolan walked up with a gentle smile, patting Leonardo on the shoulder. He let out a whistle as he saw the target, nodding a little. "Not bad shots…not bad shots at all."

"Not good enough, though." Leonardo muttered. "Why can't I shoot better? Ever since we started this fight, I've been becoming worse and worse…There's really no point in deploying me in the final battle. I'd be more of a burden than a help."

"Nonsense!" Nolan shook Leonardo a bit. "Every little bit helps…so what if you're not a perfect shot? It's not like the human body is the size of a bulls-eye."

Leonardo nodded gratefully at Nolan, glad for his words. The father figure of the Dawn Brigade was always there when one of them needed a helping hand or a couple of nice words. Still…maybe that was why. In the beginning, there was only the Dawn Brigade. They were a family and they watched each others' backs. But now, everyone was there. Greil's Mercenaries, the Apostle, laguz from every nation in Tellius…it was kind of suffocating. And almost all of them boasted more battle experience than the Dawn Brigade.

He never told anyway, but he was a little afraid of being left out. He had heard that Edward was heading into the Tower and he knew Micaiah (and by extension, Sothe) would definitely be going. The Dawn Brigade was getting split apart and they had always fought together. It was making him feel sick.

"What's going on?" Micaiah walked up to Leonardo and Nolan, her light tome clutched under one shoulder. "Last minute practice?"

"Something like that, yeah." Nolan replied. "Where's Sothe?"

"Right over here." Sothe said as he somehow dropped from the sky, landing with barely a sound right next to Micaiah. Leonardo put a hand to his heart to steady himself as he looked at what could be considered the angry older brother of the Dawn Brigade. Sothe once again wore his serious expression, his green cloak rustling in the wind. "Training, huh?"

He looked at the targets, a small smirk on his face. "It takes me back…Remember when you first joined us, Leonardo? You were dragged along by Edward, saying something about how you barely even had practice with a bow. After you got accepted, you spent weeks training at night so you would get better."

"Yeah…" Leonardo muttered. "I remember that. It feels like I'm going back to that time."

"I'd really tell you to take a break if that happened. The first time you practiced, none of your arrows even hit the target." Sothe snorted. "We had to pick up littered arrows everywhere in our hideout. You even managed to hit the roof."

Leonardo flushed in embarrassment but a smile appeared on his face. "Hahah, yeah. I still don't know how I managed to do that."

"Remember the first meal?" Micaiah said, her amber eyes glinted. "You and Edward really could pack it away. I was so surprised and Nolan had to stop the two of you before you ate all of our supplies."

"Hey! We were hungry!" Leonardo protested.

"And then after that the two of you got sick from overeating." Micaiah continued. "I think you learned your lesson from that."

"Yes mom." Leonardo replied dutifully, earning himself a light smack on the head by Sothe. "Ow jeez."

"Leave it to the big brother to administer punishment." Nolan said with a smile. He patted Leonardo on the head. "Now Leonardo, no more silly ideas about bowing out of the final battle. We're the Dawn Brigade and we're all family. We fight together."

"Yes dad." Leonardo said, avoiding Sothe's second smack. "Anyway…thank you all for your support. I don't think I would have gotten this far without all of you next to me. Except…where's Edward?"

"He said he wanted to do something." Nolan answered.

_Watch over us all, Goddess, and show us your divine plan  
__Bless us all, Goddess, and allow us to show you our future  
Hear my prayer, Goddess, and...I will see you soon_

Laura opened her eyes, her prayer finished. She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her white robes, feeling…relieved wasn't the word, but it was close enough. She looked at the bed, wondering if she should simply sleep now. It was late and she didn't want to be too tired when the battle actually started.

"Hey Laura, are you inside?" Edward's cheerful voice came from behind the tent flaps and Laura could see him awkwardly trying to knock on the cloth without much success.

"Yes, what is it, Edward?" Laura untied the flaps and let in the brown-haired swordsman. He gave her a nod of thanks and stretched inside the tent, letting out a satisfied groan.

"Hey, I was just wondering if you wanted to take a walk or something." Edward offered. "I mean, I know it's the night before the final battle, but I really can't sleep right now. And it can't be good for you to be cooped up in this stuffy tent for the whole night…Get some fresh air and stuff! Even after Ashera did all the stuff, the night sky still looks as beautiful as ever and if you're hungry we could pick up some leftovers from the mess tent."

Laura giggled a little and smiled. "Kind of like a date, then?"

"Yes! Wait what?!" Edward coughed, trying to cover his surprise. "I mean, sure, if you want to think of it that way, then I'm asking you out on a date! Although if you don't want it to be like that, then think of it like a nice walk out in the moonlight with me."

"That still sounds like a date." Laura said, smiling a little wider at Edward's indignant expression. "I'm kidding, Edward…I guess a little walk before sleeping wouldn't be that bad."

"Great!" Edward said excitedly, taking Laura's hand and leading her out of the tent. Laura looked up at the twinkling stars and smiled. Edward was right. They truly were beautiful.

She leaned her head against Edward's shoulder, planning on enjoying this moment as long as she can. _'Goddess…we're coming.'_

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Chris: So how was that? I...probably got some people OOC but it's not like Fire Emblem 10 gives you a lot of chance for character expansion (stupid nuking of support conversations). Well, I wrote them how I perceived them so I guess that's really all I have to work off of! If you have any objects to my pairings, I say screw you because that's what I like. No really, I like Edward and Laura together for reasons I'm unaware of and that's the same for Mia and Ilyana. I'm weird like that. Anyway, please tell me if you enjoyed it in a review and tell me if there's anything I could improve for future works and stuff.

I **do** have another story idea in the works focusing on Elibe (although it will split to the other continents, Elibe first) and I'll probably have the first chapter up for it soon. Perhaps I should finish one of my other fics first though...Hmmmm. Well, I'll get to them eventually.

Enough from me! Thanks for reading!


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